Cotton Belt Depot Museum

Cotton Belt Depot Museum

Cotton Belt Depot Museum in 2018
Cotton Belt Depot Museum Show map of Texas Cotton Belt Depot Museum Cotton Belt Depot Museum (the United States) Show map of the United States
Location	210 E. Oakwood St., Tyler, Texas
Coordinates	32°21′15″N 95°17′52″W
Type	Model trains Railroad memorabilia
Website	Cotton Belt Depot Museum Tyler Texas
St. Louis Southwestern Railway (Cotton Belt) Passenger Depot
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Area	less than one acre
Built	1905 (1905)
Built by	St. Louis Southwestern Railway
Architectural style	Prairie School, et.al.
MPS	Tyler, Texas MPS
NRHP reference No.	01000873[1]
Added to NRHP	August 8, 2001

The Cotton Belt Depot Museum is a museum located in the historic railroad depot in Tyler, Texas, United States.

History

Tyler, Texas, had been a railroad hub since the Houston and Great Northern first came through the town in 1873.^[2] The depot was opened in 1905. The passenger service ceased in April 1956 and it has been used for different purposes until it was donated to the City of Tyler in 1988. In 2003, following a major renovation the space was shared by the Tyler Transit Department and the museum. Tyler Transit occupies the waiting area and the museum occupies what used to be the baggage storage area.^[3]

The museum is run by the Cotton Belt Rail Historical Society Tyler Tap Chapter, which was part of the Cotton Belt Rail Historical Society before breaking off to form a separate organization.^[4]

Museum

The model train collection of Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Bragg is the bulk of the hands-on exhibit. Other artifacts and memorabilia have been donated by various individuals.^[4]

Gallery

• 
  O-scale model railway layout
• 
  Interior
• 
  Interior
• 
  Interior

See also

• Carnegie History Center
• Goodman-LeGrand House
• List of museums in East Texas
• St. Louis Southwestern Railway
• Tyler Museum of Art
• Whitaker-McClendon House
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Smith County, Texas

Preceding station	St. Louis Southwestern Railway			Following station
Brownsboro toward Gatesville		Main Line		Big Sandy toward St. Louis

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
2. McCroskey, Vista K. "Tyler Tap Railroad". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
3. Reed, Robert Earl (2009). Tyler. Arcadia Publishing. p. 39. ISBN 978-0-7385-7178-2.
4. "Cotton Belt Train Museum". Retrieved July 24, 2020.

External links

• Cotton Belt Depot Museum
• Cotton Belt Rail Historical Society Tyler Tap Chapter
• Cotton Belt Rail Historical Society
• Cotton Belt Rail Historical Society (Older Site Archive)
• St. Louis Southwestern Railway from the Handbook of Texas Online